Yes, there are two Americas’ Virginia, they exist as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist. One tolerant and broadminded, the other intolerant and narrow-minded!
Sincerely, thinkingblue, from the TOLERANT AND BROADMINDED USA
PS: Joe (You Lie) Wilson, et al reside in the other America!

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Poorer

Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get
Poorer

No
doubt, the wealthy (Romney leading the gaiety) are dancing in the
streets, not celebrating their gain but dancing for joy over the
Hoi polloi's (93% of us) losses. thinkingblue

Overview
During the first two years of the nation’s economic
recovery, the mean net worth of households in the upper 7% of
the wealth distribution rose by an estimated 28%, while the
mean net worth of households in the lower 93% dropped by 4%,
according to a Pew Research Center analysis of newly released
Census Bureau data.

From 2009 to 2011, the mean wealth of the 8 million
households in the more affluent group rose to an estimated
$3,173,895 from an estimated $2,476,244, while the mean
wealth of the 111 million households in the less affluent
group fell to an estimated $133,817 from an estimated
$139,896.

These wide variances were driven by the fact that the stock
and bond market rallied during the 2009 to 2011 period while
the housing market remained flat.

Affluent households typically have their assets concentrated
in stocks and other financial holdings, while less affluent
households typically have their wealth more heavily
concentrated in the value of their home.

From the end of the recession in 2009 through 2011 (the last
year for which Census Bureau wealth data are available), the
8 million households in the U.S. with a net worth above
$836,033 saw their aggregate wealth rise by an estimated $5.6
trillion, while the 111 million households with a net worth
at or below that level saw their aggregate wealth decline by
an estimated $0.6 trillion.1

Because of these differences, wealth inequality increased
during the first two years of the recovery. The upper 7% of
households saw their aggregate share of the nation’s
overall household wealth pie rise to 63% in 2011, up from 56%
in 2009. On an individual household basis, the mean wealth of
households in this more affluent group was almost 24 times
that of those in the less affluent group in 2011. At the
start of the recovery in 2009, that ratio had been less than
18-to-1.

The free market doesn't work and Noam Chomsky explains how
Wall Street DESTROYS democracy. Remember the term
"neoliberal" in the phrase "neoliberal
package" is meant to describe Trickle-Down economics
that benefits the wealthy at the expense of the poor &
middle class (The 99%).

Noam Chomsky says:

"It's rather striking to see how every element of the
neoliberal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoliber...) package
is specifically designed to undercut democracy. It's rarely
discussed and people talk about it's economic effects, but
just thin it through. Let's take, say, financial
liberalization (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic...).

The core, for Keynes, the Greatest Achievement of the Bretton
Woods system (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bretton_...) was
to institute financial regulation, and there's a reason. That
provides space for governments to undertake programs that are
supported by the population.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post%E2%...)

If you have no constraints on capital flow and you can attack
currencies frequently, freely, that creates what
international economists sometimes call a 'Virtual
Parliament,' with investors and lenders who can, I'm quoting
from technical literature, can carry out a moment-by-moment
referendum on government policies. And if they think the
policies are irrational, they can vote against them by
capital flight, by attacks on the currencies, and so on.

The policies that are irrational are, by definition, those
that benefit people, but don't improve profit and market
access and so on.

And, therefore, governments face what's called a 'dual
constituency:'
their own population and the 'virtual parliament,' and the
virtual parliament usually wins, especially in poor
countries.

For the rich countries it was modulated into... First of all,
they didn't accept the neoliberal package as completely as
say, Latin America, but to the extent that they did, the
effects are predictable. And the same is true of other
neoliberal programs.

Take, say privatization, which became a mantra. Well, by
definition, privatization undercuts democracy:
take something out of the public arena and puts it into the
hands of unaccountable private tyrannies that are created and
supported by the state, which is what corporations are."

About Me

Yes, there are two Americas’ Virginia, they exist as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist. One tolerant and
free-thinking, the other intolerant and close-minded!
Sincerely, thinkingblue, from the TOLERANT AND FREE-THINKING USA
PS: Joe (You Lie) Wilson, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh et al reside in the intolerant America!